Plath Literary Devices

Two Sisters of Persephone, by Sylvia Plath, is a poem about Persephone, the Greek daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and how she feels about a deplorable deal with Hades, the god of the underworld. One side of Persephone is seen as miserable and irritable while the other side is seen as joyful and continually expresses her happiness. These emotions are a result of her agreement with Hades to become his wife and stay with him for half of a year. Plath is likely trying to inform readers about Persephone’s life in an expressive way. Plath is also attempting to make us feel sympathy for Persephone, believe that Persephone loathes this agreement, and understand Persephone’s story. One purpose of Plath writing Two Sisters of Persephone is to

Throughout Two Sisters of Persephone, many literary devices are used to describe Persephone’s life. One example of a literary device used is in the third stanza where the words “shade” and “light” are juxtaposed. This literary device is used to show how the two personalities of Persephone are complete opposites. The miserable side of Persephone is described as sitting “within the house” while the other cheerful side is described as going outside. Moreover, another literary device used is mood, which is apparent in stanzas five to twelve. Plath uses a depressive and vapid mood to show how dispirited Persephone was whenever she was forced to live in the underworld. Furthermore, to Persephone, her time in the underworld felt like eternity which describes the line “dry ticks mark time”. This is a stark contrast to her joyful side “[hearing] ticks blown gold like pollen on bright air”. Gold is a color that is

Plath makes the readers undergo a feeling of sympathy for Persephone. The manner that Plath described Persephone’s miserable life is done so with a variety of literary devices throughout the poem. An example is when she is described as staying at a “barren enterprise” which likely refers to the underworld. Persephone is also described as “root-pale” with a “meager frame” which signifies her pitiful condition. Furthermore, Plath causes readers to believe that Persephone detests her agreement with Hades. This is apparent with the line “dry ticks mark time” which expressed her impatience and displeasure with the agreement. Moreover, Plath wants for the readers to understand the Two Sisters of Persephone’s story as a way to increase our knowledge of ancient Greek culture. Hence, an intention of Plath writing Two Sisters of Persephone is to arouse emotions and beliefs from its